A common theory among sellers getting ready to list their home is...

"If I price it a little higher than where I hope to sell, buyers who are interested will just make an offer, and we'll negotiate from there."

It sounds reasonable. But here in the Harrisonburg area, that's often not how it plays out.

When a buyer sees a price that feels too high, their first instinct isn't to make an offer and to see what happens, they often just don't do anything.

1. They assume their offer won't go anywhere. 
2. They assume someone else is already willing to pay more. 
3. They don't want to insult the a seller with a low number. 

Thus, the buyers keep looking, and your home sits on the market, still for sale.

The first few weeks are our best shot at getting the most attention from buyers. Buyers who've been waiting to buy a home get alerts and schedule showings. But if your list price isn't spot on during that initial window, you likely won't get low offers, you won't get any offers at all.

Our best bet is to price your home accurately and reasonably from the start. Not significantly lower than where we think it will sell -- but right at what we believe is the most likely sales price.  That price will gets buyers not only looking at your home, but hopefully making offers as well.